Professional responsibility board requests lawyer suspension

The Director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility has requested the suspension of Rochester attorney William L. French.

Director Martin Cole accused French of failing to put client funds in trust, failing to tell clients funds had been received on their behalf and misappropriating client funds. Cole also highlighted French’s disciplinary history, which included admonitions in 1995 and 2000 for failing to pursue client cases and failing to communicate with clients.

The most recent disciplinary petition was filed in response to problems with two different cases. In one case, French is accused of failing to deposit client funds into a trust account and then depositing the refund of a client’s $500 cost bond into his business account. In another case, French is accused of depositing the partial refund of another cost bond into his business account. In both cases, French is accused of failing to notify his clients of the refunds.